Red Knight
The Red Knight, or the Lady of Strategy, is the Faerûnian deity of strategy and battle tactics and an exarch of Tempus. Her dogma dictates the use of careful tactics in battle to achieve victory, under the belief that sound strategy is the best way to win a battle with the most favorable outcome. Her symbol is a red 'knight' chess piece with stars for eyes. Worshipers The Red Knight is worshiped by generals, tacticians, lawful-minded warriors and paladins alike. Rituals Clerics of the Red Knight, or "holy strategists," pray for their spells at night before sleeping to prepare for the next day. In addition to observing the holy days of the church of Tempus, the church of the Red Knight -- the "Red Fellowship" -- has two important holy days of its own. Midwinter Day On Midwinter Day the Red Fellowship observes the Retreat. This solemn ceremony consists of an assembly wherein the clergy discuss the previous year's campaigns. Strategies are discussed, battles analyzed, and the accumulated lore integrated into the church's teachings. The Queen's Gambit On the 1st of Tarsakh, the clergy of the Red Knight have an annual festival called the Queen's Gambit. During this day-long extravaganza, the Red Fellowship unwinds with feasting and gaming. Day-long tournaments of chess (also known as lanceboard, hence the Red Knight's second title, "Grandmaster of the Lanceboard") are held, with the tournament victors receiving recognition, titles of merit, promotions, and occasionally a gift from the temple armory. Relationships The Red Knight looks to Tempus as a father figure and it is only he who knows her true name. If anyone else discovered this they would gain insight into every strategy and every war plan throughout the planes. Another ally of the Red Knight is Torm. The duo are well-known to be very close, but whether they are friends or lovers is something they've kept to themselves. She also works closely with Valkur, god of naval warfare and another exarch of Tempus. Her enemies include Garagos and Cyric. She is known to have good relations with Tyr, god of Justice. History The Red Knight was elevated to divinity by Tempus to balance Garagos' destructive aims. Lore typical offerings on the altar of Red Knight are coins won in wagering over games of skill (such as lanceboard) but never in 'games of chance,' and greatest possible offerings of all, if the games themselves are well-designed new strategy games (board, pieces, and rules) personally devised by the worshipper. If given in a temple, these always vanish from the altar (taken by the clergy of the temple, of course). If offered in private, in the open or at a shrine, such offerings are to buried with a symbol of the goddess (a crude horsehead chesspiece design scratched into a piece of bark or onto a stone will suffice, if nothing better can be had), in earth into which a single drop (or more) of the worshipper's blood has been spilled. It is sinful to the goddess for the same worshipper to unearth such things and re-use them as offerings, or for other faithful of the Red Knight to knowingly use the previously-used offerings of another in their own prayers to the goddess, but it's quite acceptable to use them in other ways (spend the coins, and play, sell, give away, or bet on the games). Note that devout faithful of the Red Knight often have scores of red horse-headed lanceboard pieces made for them to carry, and use in just such situations. If non-clerical worshippers of the Red Knight are travelling with a priest of the Lady of Strategy and make prayers to the goddess, it IS acceptable for the priest to collect and carry along all such offerings, to turn them over to a temple of the goddess at the first opportunity. If this becomes impossible, such 'sacred goods' are to be buried if this can be managed. Typical prayers to the Red Knight are whispered pleas for insight into the thinking of foes when planning strategies against them, and requests for inspiration (and a true follower of Red Knight believes that all tactical thinking or dreams of battles and battle-strategies are bestowed by the Red Knight, and will thank her for her aid: in other words, a devout worshipper of Red Knight NEVER takes credit for brilliant strategies or tactics, believeing they have all come from the goddess). When a devout follower suffers defeat, overlooks some stratagem of an opponent, or is outwitted, they typically make offering to the goddess by procuring a shard of good-quality battle armor, gashing themselves with it, and leaving the bloodied metal on the altar with a prayer, not binding their wound or seeking healing for it until their prayers are complete. Many worshippers of the Red Knight take good armor from opponents they've personally felled and shatter it, so as to have a ready supply of such shards awaiting times of failure, in order to properly 'square their standing' with the Lady of Strategy. Great victories are also celebrated on an altar of Red Knight by placing trophies of the defeated foes on it, with prayer (weapons, armor, and even blood and body parts). If no altar is handy, the prayer may be offered literally ON the body or trophy of the fallen, on the battlefield or place of death. Prayers to the Red Knight often begin "Oh, Lady of clear calm" or "Great Lady of Armor Blood-Red" and the goddess betimes gives long-worshipping individuals a secret name by which they can call her (imparted in dreams, these names are different for every individual, and are NOT thought to be even echoes of her true name, but rather a personal token or 'pet-name' symbolizing her favour of the devotions of the individual; typical examples are: "Divine Arlanna" and "Divine Elmrara"). Formal priestly prayers often include the lines "Lady whose armor is drenched in blood for us" and "Armor blooded to remind us of our faults and defeats, but eyes bright to make us mindful ever of unquenchable spirit and battlemastery of fields to come." Battle-oaths to the Red Knight (given when smiting foes or launching an attack) include these: "Bright wit, clear thought, keen sight!" "Forward the Game Undying!" "Let this game now be ended!" "Smite smart!" Obscenities uttered by faithful of the Red Knight when personally upset include these: "Alavaerthus!" (equivalent of "God-damn-it!" or "Jesus fucking Christ!" word, pronounced "Alah-VAER-thus," was the name of a member of the Fellowship who had a large hand in founding the church of Red Knight, but went mad in a battle and sent his forces to their dooms through a series of stupid or reckless commands; "playing Alavaerthus" is an informal Fellowship expression meaning to 'totally screw up') "Blood of the Lady!" (equivalent of "Oh my [insert strongest personal obscenities here God!" as a stronger replacement for "Alavaerthus!") "Checkmate!" (formal, usable-in-polite-company equivalent of "Damn!" or "Shit!" or "Blast!" [invoking the name of the Lady's blade) "Keltor!" (equivalent of "Damn!" and pronounced as "KEL-tor" out swiftly) "Teskyre!" (equivalent of "Shit!" and pronounced as "Tess-kEYE-ur") "Witless!" (equivalent of "Fuck!" strongest personal oath of a faithful of the Red Knight alludes to stupidity in strategy or tactics) Category:Demipowerss Category:Human deities Category:Formerly mortal deities